Co-production Support Fund Application
EMPOWER Dementia Network+

The Co-production Fund is now closed. 

What is the purpose of the Co-production Support Fund?

The Co-production Support fund is for teams to create together their full applications for the EMPOWER Small Research Project Fund. The support fund is to enable partnership building and meaningful collaborations for projects to be co-produced between people with lived experience, researchers, practitioners and community organisations.

The co-production fund is intended to support projects that will be submitted to the EMPOWER Small Research Project Fund. We trust partners to use the funding thoughtfully, but we do expect a follow-on full application to our funding scheme as part of the process.

Dates: The Fund opens on the Tuesday 26th August and the deadline for submitting this application is Friday 19th September 2025, 1pm GMT.

We believe in co-production as a Network

Co-production underpins everything that we do. We expect that the development and delivery of proposals for our Small Research Project fund are grounded in principles of inclusive co-production.

What does co-production mean?

Co-production in the Network means a collaborative approach that prioritises equity, shared power, and shared responsibility among all participants in a safe space. It ensures the ongoing involvement of diverse and inclusive groups, especially those directly affected, from the outset of a project.

For Eric Deeson, a lived expert, explains:
“Co-production is when professionals and service users work together equally to develop, deliver and evaluate that service.”

This means we…

  • Value the strengths and contributions of each member
  • Take an asset-based approach
  • Focus on meaningful tasks that go beyond mere consultation

Our approach recognises…

  • That regular meetings and investment of time and efforts are integral to fostering genuine involvement and ensuring the quality of collaboration
  • The importance of flexibility in rules and structures to adapt to the evolving needs of participants within projects and the Network itself

To support you with co-production our Network members

  • Developed Co-production Training to work in partnership with people with dementia
  • Created a library of Co-production Resources on our website
  • Constructed this Co-production Support Fund to enable meaningful collaborations within and between teams.
    Who is eligible?

    This fund is available to applicants who were successful in the Expression of Interest (EOI) stage of the Small Research Project Fund. This is open to all teams – new teams formed through the Network and those more established.
    Funding can only be awarded to an organisation. For the Support Fund, this can be a UK research organisation eligible for UKRI funding or a UK community organisation.

    What can the funding be used for?

    The Co-production Support Fund can be used to fund time and activities during the development phase to co-create full applications and build partnerships among co-applicants (lived experts, community partners and researchers). Eligible applications must demonstrate equal and transparent distribution of resources across all co-applicants. This includes, but is not limited to, funding for:

    • Reimbursement of lived experts’ time and expertise
    • Activities undertaken by community partners
    • Travel and refreshments for in-person meetings
    • Postage and internet charges for online meetings
    • Research support
    • Accessibility, translation and interpreting

    Please follow NIHR guidance for reimbursement: Payment guidance for researchers and professionals | NIHR.

    Please refer to resources on inclusive co-production for people affected by dementia, including Dementia Enquiries: Gold Standards for Ethical Research and Dementia Enquiries: Gold Standards for Co-research.

    What funding is available?

    Funding is available to support teams in this development phase from September 2025 to January 6th 2026 to co-produce your applications for the Small Research Project Fund (Full-application deadline January 7th 2026).

    We have two levels of Co-Production Support Funding:

     

    • Standard funding: Up to £500 is available per team to apply for.
    • Additional funding: Up to £1000 is available with justification that required to ensure equality of opportunity in co-production, for example, costs for translation, travel to reach rural areas. Applicants should complete the additional section of the form providing a cost breakdown and rationale.